


When We Meet Again

by TigerlilyM



Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, M/M, Slow Burn, bare with me here guys, it does end happily I promise, there's some angst in here I am sorry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-15
Updated: 2018-04-16
Packaged: 2019-03-31 14:15:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13976853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TigerlilyM/pseuds/TigerlilyM
Summary: Reincarnation is a normal thing in today's society. Everyone has a past. Some remember, some don't.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there! This if my first time writing a fic, so I am incredibly nervous about posting this and its probably evident that I have no clue what I am doing ahaha.
> 
> I am total trash for CP and I'm not lying when I say it's taken over my entire life... soo here's an idea that I've had for a while and I finally decided to write it, it may not be any good, but yeah I'm just doing this for a bit of fun and I really hope you guys like it?  
> if this turns out to be enjoyed by people I will probably update it once or twice a week, but we'll see :)
> 
> (I am sorry too for anything wrong with my English, it is not my first language so I struggle a little? but I'm trying haha)
> 
> comments and kudos are very much appreciated!!

*12 years ago*

 

Summer in Nice gets quite hot. Situated on the east coast of southern France, the summer time was always a dream.  
The De Vere family lived in a flat not far from the promenade, so they were graced with beautiful views of the setting summer sun, slowly fading behind the horizon.

Laurent and his older brother of eight years, Auguste, were born and raised in Nice. Their mother was a beautiful French woman and both boys resembled their mother, with their blue eyes and golden hair, although Laurent certainly held a more striking resemblance to her, with slightly sharper facial features, lighter eyes and hair. Their father was also French, a handsome man too. Auguste was certainly more like their father, he spoke calmly and had a mind for business, whereas Laurent took after his mother, he had a sharp tongue and a passion for ancient history.

During the summer, Auguste and Laurent would sit out on the balcony, watch the sunset darken to night and talk about anything and everything. The two spent a lot of their time together, they were practically inseparable. One might be able to thank their memories of their past life together, as it is quite likely to be the reason why they are as close as they are.

Laurent thinks about their past life often. The memories are sweet but end bitterly. The memory of seeing his beloved brother die replay in his mind over and over. Laurent feels the great loss and the pain as if it happened in this life. Those are feelings that Laurent never wants to arise in this lifetime, he doesn’t want that memory of loss and pain to become reality. He doesn’t want that loss and pain to be real again. He won’t let that loss and pain be real again.

Reincarnation. That’s what Laurent was thinking about now. It’s strange and it confuses him. How does it even work? why don’t people freak out about it? How are Auguste and him together again? Why can they remember their past memories with each other? It’s all so weird.

“Penny for your thoughts, mon chou?” Auguste was watching Laurent curiously, knowing the cogs of Laurent’s mind were turning furiously inside his little head.

“Auguste, why isn’t reincarnation weird to people? Why do people think it’s normal? How come we’re brothers again and why can we remember all the time we spent together in our past life?” Laurent stared up at his older brother with a confused expression covering his fair face. 

Auguste stared at Laurent for a few moments, completely bewildered by what had all just come out of his little brother’s mouth. He chuckled and shook his head, trust Laurent to be this inquisitive at seven years old. Auguste decided he may as well explain everything the best he could, just to make sure his brother would be satisfied with his answer.

“Well you see mon chou, in this day and age, being reincarnated is a normal thing, you can regain memories of your past life but only if you come into direct contact with something from your past life. This contact can be with a building, a book, a picture or painting or another person. When you come into contact with a building or an inanimate object, you will only remember a memory or memories concerning that building or object. If you meet with someone from your past life who has also been reincarnated, when you touch, all your memories of time spent with that person will come flooding back to you, everything from the very moment you met, to the moment you parted for the final time. This is why we can remember our past life together, the moment I held you in my arms for the first time, all of our past memories together came back to me, and your memories have been with you since birth.  
Many people are reincarnated and still have one family member who stays in their family along with them still, just like how me and you are together again, other people may be with their mother or father again or even with another sibling, like us.  
Some people are fortunate enough to meet old friends once again and continue where they left off. Some are fortunate enough to meet a lover, a wife or a husband or a lost love, and fall in love all over again. This is why people adore reincarnation so much, they can continue where they left off if they wish for it.  
Some however, can go through their entire lives without ever meeting a single person from their previous life ever again; no family, no friends, no lover. They have to just start again with no recollection of who they once were or who they once knew and loved.  
Also, it is believed that everyone looks the exact same as they used to be in their past life, however no one is recognised by how they look or how they behave, only a touch can trigger memories. Don’t you think that’s pretty amazing, mon petit prince?”  
Auguste smiled softly at Laurent. Laurent just stared back at him, with a pensive look on his little face.

“I… well yes, I guess… but it’s still weird. Also, how is it fair that some people can find it all and others can’t find anything… why do some people not get the chance to carry on even when they wish for it?” Laurent looked mildly angry now. As moody and snarky as the boy could be, he had a good and gentle heart inside of him.

“I cannot answer that chou chou, all I can say is that’s life. Life is never really fair.” Auguste pulled Laurent into his lap, it was his way of comforting Laurent when he worked himself up over something that he could never control.

Laurent hummed in reply, because for once, he didn’t have anything more to say.

The two of them stayed on the balcony watching the waves and counting the stars until the moon was high in the sky. They eventually tiptoed their way back to their bedrooms and waited for the new day to arrive. It was simple, but it was their favourite way to spend an evening. Together and happy.

 

*Present day*

 

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Be-

Laurent smacked the switch on his alarm clock so the dreadful thing would stop. He was having a good dream about his childhood and the damn thing had to go and wake him up. Laurent always enjoyed dreams of his childhood, they made him feel warm inside. But there was no denying that they made him feel a little lonely. Auguste was still in Nice running the family art gallery, whilst he was in Paris studying classics and archaeology. Laurent promised himself he wouldn’t go home until he finished his degree, because if he went back, he’d never want to come back to Paris and be alone again.

Laurent dragged himself out of bed and shuffled his way to his bathroom so he could shower and wake himself up a bit more, he had a long day ahead of him and he needed to feel at least a little ready to tackle it.

Today was the day that he was flying to Athens in Greece, he was going for a year to study as he was given the opportunity to work in his university’s partner university in the ancient city. To say he was excited was an understatement, he was thrilled to be able to go to such a historically rich part of the world, not that France wasn’t historically rich itself, there was just more in Greece.

France used to be called Vere and Greece was Akielos, the two countries were known for being united once due to two kings marrying one another many centuries ago. It is said that the kings were so in love and so determined to be together that they reunited their kingdoms after hundreds of years of them having conflict and difficult relations. However, now the countries are separated again and not a lot is known about the two kings of the past, all that is left is educated guesses about who they were and what they did. The mystery intrigued Laurent and he would be lying if he said he didn’t feel strangely drawn to the two countries and the kings of many centuries ago, so he was determined to research them both as much as he could in hopes to maybe uncover their past.

Once Laurent had showered, dressed himself and eaten, he checked his bags and did a quick once over his flat to make sure he hadn’t forgotten anything. Once he was satisfied with what he had, he made his way downstairs to where a taxi was waiting to take him the airport.

The car trip was short and he made his way through the airport with little fuss and boarded his plane when the time came. He was settled in his seat, with a book and some water ready for the flight. Laurent thought about what could be waiting for him in Athens. Maybe he may even meet someone from his past life? A friend…or maybe even a lover? He scoffed at the idea of him meeting a lover. He has never been one for romance, probably due to the fact that Hollywood and literature butcher the idea of people reuniting with the love of their past, it just all seemed very unrealistic and fake. Another reason would be that he knows what his own personality is like, he’s quite closed off and he has a mouth that can spit poison (not literally of course), his partner would have to be a man of steel, just like the few friends he has, because god knows it takes a literal god to be able to handle him.

The announcement of their departure sounded from the speakers and Laurent sends his brother a farewell text. This was it. He was finally going to be in Athens and boy was he ready.


	2. Chapter One: A New Place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laurent settles in and has one hell of a first day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm back after a while! Life is a little crazy right now but here we go, another chapter!!  
> It's nothing too wild and I think its a little shorter than the last, but, important stuff happens!!  
> I hope you enjoy this!
> 
> Once again, comments and kudos are very much appreciated! Also, come say hi on Tumblr! @vekelios

After a rather uncomfortable flight, Laurent was now finally out of the airport and almost arriving at the accommodation where he would be staying for the duration of his year abroad. It was midday by the time he arrived in Athens and of course it being the end of August, still late summer, it was too hot for his liking. He was used to hot weather, being from the south of France, but good god was this heat something else. 

Laurent was to occupy a small apartment which was situated on a small path between the Plaka and the Acropolis. Taking in the lush views, he noticed the surrounding area had lots of greenery and very old looking cobbled streets, the building itself was an old stone building, making it blend in rather beautifully with its surroundings. Laurent also liked that there were many cats in the area, yes they’re strays, but they all looked very well fed and rather healthy. Laurent set to moving himself into his new temporary home, he unpacked his clothes and living essentials, setting up a corner by the balcony for reading and winding down as he noticed he has a view of the ruins and the Acropolis from said balcony and really it was the perfect spot to settle with a book in.

Laurent took his time unpacking and before he knew it, it was the early hours of the evening. He took a moment to admire his organisation; his desk was organised nicely with a stack of books on each side and a big open space to spread out all his work onto. His bedroom was a little bare still but he had made the bed and put his clothes away in their respective places. Yes, he had to decorate it a little more to make it feel like home (although it would truly never be his home), but for now, he was content with what he had done and he was happy to have a clean home all to himself.

Once Laurent was fully satisfied with his work, he checked the rather old looking clock on the wall to see that it was now 7pm. The sun was low but still bright and it had finally cooled down enough for Laurent to decide to go out and explore his local area. But before he did any of that, he called Auguste.

The line range three times before his older brother’s calm voice sounded through.

“I was wondering when you’d call, little brother.” Auguste knew Laurent didn’t particularly being called “little”, he grew out of “little” a good six years ago at least.

“Well, you can stop wondering, because here I am, calling you. Shocking isn’t it?”

“Never the one to pass up an opportunity to be sarcastic.” 

“Hmm you’ve got me to a T there.”

“So? Greece? How is it? Not died from heatstroke yet?” Auguste knew Laurent was never one to enjoy overly hot weather, so of course that would be his first point for teasing.

“Auggie, I’ve been here for seven odd hours, all I’ve done is travel and unpack, I haven’t even had time to explore. To top it all off you mock my ability to withstand heat too? Goodness what a brother I have.” Laurent feigned hurt and disbelief, knowing his brother would catch on, more so to Laurent’s childhood nickname for him.

“Ok ok, Lou Lou, judging by how you’re speaking to me, I can conclude that you’re safe and perfectly fine. Just keep being safe and call me whenever you can. I do miss you and I just want you to really enjoy your time out there in Athens… on that note, I am going to leave you to carry on with whatever you’re doing! Je t’adore mon chou, à demain.” Auguste’s voice was warm, it always has been warm. Laurent smiled at his nickname (although he’d never let auguste know that).

“Je t’adore aussi, à demain.” With that, Laurent hung up and set out to explore the area.

 

Laurent grabbed the essentials – keys, wallet and phone and headed out down the path towards an area that was much more lively than where his house was situated. Laurent walked through the bustling alleys of the Plaka and took his time admiring small ruins here and there, also stopping a few times to look at the shops and the local products that they offered. Eventually, he found himself wandering towards a small café which was placed just next to a rather large ruin. Laurent sat down at one of the small tables outside, just under an overgrown set of vines which had pink flowers sprouting and flowering in hanging bunches off of the wooden scaffolding of which was holding it all up; it was rather beautiful and it gave him a perfect view of the ruins.

The waiter must have noticed him staring intensely at the ruins as he came over, offering Laurent a small paper menu and a kind smile.

“Pretty beautiful, isn’t it?”  
The brown haired man gestured towards the ruins, giving them a small glance before smiling back at Laurent.

“Yes, truly. It seems to be a house, no?”  
Laurent’s gaze flicked briefly to the man, but in an instant, went back to the ruins. The place seemed familiar to him, but he couldn’t explain why.

“Yes, I believe that is what it once was. Something connected to someone of high social standing, some say it belonged to a king and his husband many centuries ago. It was their humble escape, or at least that is what’s said about this place.”  
The man was still smiling down at Laurent and Laurent couldn’t help but give him a small smile back, he was a little lost for words and he wasn’t sure whether it was because of the kind man beside him or because of his fascination with the ruins in front of him.

“I’m sorry, I haven’t introduced myself! I’m Jord Valeur… and you are…?” Jord smiled brightly at Laurent and extended his hand out, offering it to Laurent to shake.

“Laurent de Vere. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jord.” Laurent, again, gave a small but friendly smile and reached out to shake Jord’s offered hand.

The moment skin met skin, everything went black for the two men. Laurent could still feel Jord clasping his hand just as tight as he was clasping Jord’s. As far as he could tell, his eyes were open, but he could see nothing. Slowly, very slowly, small dots of colour started flashing, popping up and then disappearing, giving him small glimpses of blurred scenes.

Ah. It made sense now.

Jord was someone from his past life.

He remembers having this blurry feeling cloud his thoughts as a young boy, when he petted his new pony for the first time and the exact same thing happened. A few moments of disorientating blurs and then finally clarity, showing him memories of racing through fields and feeling on top of the world.

The same was happening now, the blurs and flashes of images were slowly becoming clear, giving Laurent more of a chance to see his past with this man.

The first memory came with bitter feelings. Jord was older than Laurent (he could tell by his height) and was introducing himself as Laurent’s new personal guard… now that Auguste was dead and Laurent was the crown prince. The next few memories were of the two discussing many battle strategies and sparring together in an open, dusty ring. These memories had a better feeling to them, although there was still some obvious distrust. the next memories to show were the two sitting together, in a library or garden, laughing fondly with one another and speaking like good friends would. Laurent could tell that all the bitterness and distrust had vanished and now there was a strong and true friendship, radiating trust and warmth. The final two memories shown were ones where Laurent was searching for Jord’s face in a crowd. In the first, Laurent was looking for Jord in a giant crowd filled with many faces, many people were cheering and throwing white petals in the air, a chant of “Long live the king!” echoed all around him. Laurent found Jord in that crowd, looking at him with such a proud expression, Laurent’s heart swelled at the warm feeling it gave him. In the last memory, Laurent was standing under what seemed to be an... altar? Laurent was standing beside another, larger figure, who was holding him close, however Laurent could not see this person’s face or any distinguishing features, apart from the fact that this person was much larger than Laurent. Laurent looks forward to see Jord standing and applauding, with one of the biggest smiles Laurent has ever seen. The happiness from this memory made Laurent feel light and giddy, just as he probably did during the real event. It was a rather extraordinary feeling. The memory began to blur and fade and eventually Laurent regained his vision. Poor Jord seemed to have gone through the same thing, as he was staring wide-eyed at Laurent with tears, of what one could hopefully assume were tears of joy, streaming down his cheeks. Laurent had tears stinging his eyes, but he wouldn’t let them fall. That’s not how he does things.  
Laurent and Jord stare at each other for a few moments more, it takes a few more moments for either of them to find their voices too. 

“Laurent…”

“Jord…”

They were both slightly breathless and seemed to both be having a hard time really understanding that they were finally standing (in Laurent's case, sitting) in front of each other once again.

Jord was the one to break the silence once again.

“Good god I’ve missed you… hold on let me finish up early and we can go somewhere and talk properly. Give me five minutes and I’ll be right back!” Jord squeezed Laurent’s hand once before dashing inside the café.

Laurent just remained seated in stunned silence. A smile came up on his face as he thought about his dear friend. He’d found Jord again and he honestly could not quite believe his luck.


	3. Chapter two: A New Encounter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, hello, I have risen from the dead.
> 
> I am so so so sorry that this took me so long to get out, I just have exams coming up and I've been drowning in preparation for them. Also, my training season has finally started once again (I do international show jumping and dressage) so I've been a little busy recently and I let this just slip from my grasp a bit.
> 
> I can't promise that i'll be quicker with updates in the near future (end of June is when my exams finish) but I swear I will try! June will certainly have quicker updates and over the summer I will definitely update twice a week. I am planning on this being a very lengthy fic and I really hope you will all stick around for the ride.
> 
> I'm going to try and update once every two weeks, maybe once a week if I can find the time.
> 
> Thank you for reading, your lovely comments and all of the kudos are so encouraging for me!
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter :)

Jord had excused himself from work and eagerly ushered Laurent away from the café and towards a slightly busier area, filled with small bars and restaurants. Neither one of them were going to let this meeting slip away from them and both were rather eager to get to know the new versions of each other.

“I really can’t believe that I’ve gotten so lucky. I always knew something was missing from my life, and now look, I’ve found it!” Jord said, a little breathlessly, as he and Laurent sat down at a table outside of a small but lively bar.

“I’m honestly as shocked as you are. I thought that my brother was the only one from my past life that I would be lucky enough to have in my life once again. But I stand corrected, life has blessed me with my dearest friend.” Laurent meant every word he said, he really was being blessed by life.

“You have a brother?”

“Ah yes… you haven’t met again so of course you wouldn’t remember him… do you remember the first memory that arose when we shook hands? The one where you were introducing yourself as my guard? As Auguste was dead?” Laurent questioned carefully, not really knowing if Jord remembered the name ‘Auguste’ at all.

“Oh, yes I do… we were both very young at the time, you were maybe 12 or 13 years old and I was 17 or 18 years old?” Jord had a pained expression on his face, similar to Laurent’s own expression… it was not really the best memory they shared together.

“Yes, well that ‘Auguste’ that died, he was my older brother… taken away from me far too soon due to a vicious battle with those I do not remember properly… but now I have him back and I do not intend to ever let him be taken away from me prematurely in this life.” A small, sad smile graced Laurent’s lips and Jord masked the same expression.

“Well, I hope I get to meet him again.” Jord’s bright smile returned once again and Laurent couldn’t help but match it with one of His own.

“You know Laurent, you’re truly the same as you were in our past life, but I can’t help but notice that you’re happier in this life… I only remember you being truly happy in your later years in our last lifetime together…” Jord reminisced whilst taking a sip of his multi-coloured cocktail, Laurent hummed in response whilst he took a sip of his own, more plain cocktail.

“Yes, I remember being quite cold and bitter in my younger years, well of what I can remember of my younger years anyway’’ he huffed out a light chuckle “the cold and bitter side of me still remains, but you’re right, I’m happier in this life and I’m certainly not the cast-iron bitch that I used to be.”

Jord burst out laughing at Laurent’s last comment “I’ll believe that last statement when I see it!”

Laurent joined Jord in laughing away as he wasn’t sure he believed his last comment either.

The two remained seated outside of the bar, having more drinks together and speaking of their old and new lives. They were closer in age in this life, with Laurent being 19 now and Jord only being 21, they also were attending the same university, although Jord was studying history only. The two exchanged phone numbers, both agreeing that the inventions in this new life are incredibly convenient.

As Jord and Laurent were laughing over a story from Jord’s present life, Jord seemed to notice someone in the crowd by the bar.

Before Laurent could question Jord about what he was staring at, the person noticed Jord in return and was instantly at his side, greeting him with a bright smile and a ‘bro-hug’ of sorts.

Laurent was frozen in his seat, staring at what was probably the most beautiful man he had ever seen in his 19 years of new existence.

Said beautiful man had gorgeous, big brown eyes and when the bright lights shined on his face, gold seemed to sparkle in his eyes, and oh god did this man have the smile of an angel, he had a dimple too for god’s sake! It’s like his face was created by the gods! His whole entire being seemed to have been created by the gods as his body certainly matched his face in beauty. He was tall and was darkly tanned and the man was built like a god, the sculptures Laurent study couldn’t even compete with this man.   
Laurent thought of his friend, Nolwenne, and the description she gave Laurent of a man similar in size as the one who stood in front of him: “That man is 100% beef, Laurent! Total grade A quality beefcake right there!”

Her description seemed more fitting now than it was then.

 

Laurent didn’t realise he was staring at this ‘beefcake’ of a man until said man looked straight at him and gave him a rather confident grin.

“Oh sorry I didn’t see you there! Bit on the small and silent side aren’t you?” The way the man spoke was light and giddy, obviously the result of him having a few drinks. However despite his beautiful voice and appearance, he clearly did not have a brain, considering he just said that to Laurent. 

“Well excuse me for not being a mammoth of a human like yourself, I just happen to actually like being able to fit through doorways.” Laurent’s tone was the complete opposite of the man’s. It was icy and did not have a friendly vibe to it at all, well it was as icy and unfriendly as he could manage, he wasn’t that great at Greek. Yet. Hopefully he would get the hint though.

The man just regarded Laurent for a few moments, stupid grin wiped off of his face completely. He studied Laurent’s face, just watching his eyes and his expression. Laurent made very sure that his facial expression didn’t falter once during the apparent stare-down.

“I speak your language better than you speak mine, sweetheart.” The man spoke in perfect French to Laurent, obviously having noticed his rather strong accent. His stupid grin and confident stance had returned too.

Laurent didn’t even know how to react to this man so he just sat glaring at him, trying to come up with a better quip than his. This was not like Laurent at all, he was never short of something snarky to say.

“Damen be nice! Laurent you too!...I know both of you from my previous life… why don’t you guys shake hands, you might’ve been friends! It’s worth a shot, right?” Jord had interrupted the two’s staring contest, obviously to try and get rid of some of the tension. The poor man looked rather uncomfortable to be honest.

‘Damen’ shrugged and held out his hand for Laurent to shake, lazy grin still on his face. But if he really thought Laurent was going to shake his hand and be all friendly after that, well he had another thing coming.

As tempting as this Damen guy was, with his good looks and that deep voice, Laurent was not one to just be all friendly with some smart-ass, whether they were possible friends from their past life or not.

So, purposely ignoring the hand being offered to him, Laurent stood up and faced Jord.

“Sorry Jord, I’m going home. I’ll call you soon and we can catch up again, maybe lunch next week if you’re interested.”

Laurent turned to look at Damen, who seemed to be… disappointed? But instead of feeling guilt, Laurent fixed him with an icy glare before turning and making his way through the winding Plaka and back to his home.

Once he was home he readied himself for bed and organised his outfit and bag for his first day at his new university tomorrow. He spared maybe a thought or two for Damen and about how their meeting could’ve gone differently, however, Laurent couldn’t see himself getting along with the man, no matter how beautiful he was. Anyway, he wasn’t going to see him again anytime soon.

Or, at least that’s what he thought.


End file.
